Kara Everlasting
by LiseBardKimley
Summary: Due to her Kryptonian DNA, Kara will probably outlive her family and friends. How does the hero take it?
1. Part One

_Author's Note:_

 _So this story is a little on the sad side. Maybe a lot on the sad side._

 _It stemmed from seeing Tuck Everlasting the musical. I've seen it two nights in a row and I've enjoyed it immensely both times._

 _And then this idea was born._

* * *

Kara had always loved The Wizard of Oz. She'd fallen in love with everything about it; the story of a girl finding her way home, the music, everything.

But then something happened.

Yes, Oz was still her favorite. But now there another one she held dear to her heart.

It started with Mon-El. Mon-El's insistence to read every book on earth.

He'd read Harry Potter and Romeo and Juliet but there was another one too, among the multitudes of books, that stood out to Kara now.

It was the story of a girl who meets a young man in a forest near her home. And then she meets his family. And they were...immortal. They didn't die.

At first, when Mon-El had mentioned the book, Kara had just nodded, remembering reading the book in school a year or two after arriving on earth.

But something changed.

Mon-El was gone now. He was who knew where. Would he ever return? Would she ever know?

And then one morning, Kara had woken up and decided that she was going to visit the Fortress. She didn't know why but she felt almost like she was being pulled there.

She had an article due and there was several Supergirl needs so it wasn't until late in the afternoon when she finally took off.

She walked in, remembering the different times she'd been here. Mxy's visit, when Mon-El had gone with Rhea, when she'd brought James, when she'd woken up after fighting Kal.

She still didn't know why she here.

She found herself in front of the computer. And she didn't know what to do. So she just decided to ask her uncle about life on Krypton.

"Kara," The hologram of Jor-El greeted his niece.

"Uncle," Kara smiled faintly.

"What can I do for you?"

Kara swallowed the lump in her throat. It was always hard to remember. To remember what was gone. What was gone to never truly return. "I-I want to know about what it was like on Krypton."

Jor-El nodded. Kara settled herself in front of the hologram a few yards away, leaning against a pillar.

"What did you know about life here on earth?" Kara asked. "For me and Kal, I mean. What did you know about what would happen to us?"

"We knew that you would gain powers under the yellow sun."

Kara nodded.

"We also knew that you and Kal would age slower than humans."

Jor-El's listener froze. Her head snapped up. "What?"

"We knew you and Kal would age at a slower pace than human beings." Jor-El explained.

"How slowly?" Kara asked.

"It is hard to say," Jor-El admitted. "We do not have an exact number but we knew you would most likely outlive most human beings of the same seemingly similar age as you."

"What?" Kara repeated. She felt as weak as when she'd fought Kal. And just as devastated as when she'd sent Mon-El off in the pod.

And out of nowhere she remembered. Remembered when Mon-El had told her he'd read a book.

It was called Tuck Everlasting.

It was about a family who lived forever.

Kara remembered reading it in school and thinking it was nice but that was all.

Now it felt all too real.

* * *

"Kara?" Alex rapped again on the door. "Kara?" The agent rummaged in her pocket and pulled out her spare keys. "I'm coming in."

There was no one there.

The lights were out.

And Alex's gut told her no one had been here for hours.

She glanced at her watch.

11:47. 11:47pm.

She hadn't heard from her sister since after Kara had told her she'd see her for dinner. That had been at four thirty after Supergirl had responded to a bank robbery.

Kara hadn't shown up for dinner.

Alex had nervously chalked it up to a huge car accident on the corner of Chester and Hester. But Kara never texted or called to say she'd be late. She never showed up at Alex's apartment later.

And then Alex was called into the DEO. There was an alien situation unfolding.

That's when Alex found out that Supergirl hadn't arrived at the car accident.

And she didn't turn up to help out with the alien.

She wasn't answering calls or texts. Her tracking device was off.

Alex had been hoping she'd find the hero at home, passed out in front of the tv; Kara had had a busy week.

It had been a weak hope.

Where was she?


	2. Part Two

She didn't want to go back. Ever.

Why should she?

If she was just going to outlive all of them, why go back?

This way would be easier for everyone.

Kara had been hiding out at the Fortress for two days now.

She was so hungry but now not even that could pull her away. She'd turned off her phone and her tracker and even though she was itching to turn them back on, she didn't.

This was better.

Wasn't it?

"Kara!"

Kara spun around from where she was standing in front of Jor-El's hologram. Kal was there.

"I don't know why we didn't check here before," Kal muttered.

"What do you mean?" Kara asked, though she already knew. She knew what she must be putting everyone through and it was killing her but even bigger was the fear of losing all of her loved ones. It was easier this way. For her.

Kara had always looked out for others, it was in her nature.

But now she wanted nothing more than to hide away and save herself from the pain that was coming.

But now Kal was here. To bring her back to National City.

"Because we're worried." Kal stepped toward his cousin. She took an involuntary step backward. He froze. "Kara...are you okay?"

And Kara didn't know what to do. Did he know? If not, should she tell? Should she go back? Fight against it?

Kal could see the emotions rapidly moving across her face. "Kara, Alex and Eliza are worried."

Kara felt her heart clench. That was the last thing she wanted. She nodded. "I'm coming."

"Kara-"

"I just lost track of time," Kara interrupted. "I was talking to your father. Well, his hologram."

Kal nodded but they both knew he didn't buy Kara's explanation.

"Let's go," Kara said. Kal nodded and the two cousins took off. Back to National City.

Kara was dreading it.

* * *

Kal landed in the DEO.

Alone.

"Did you find her?" Eliza rushed toward him.

Kal nodded.

"Where is she?" Alex demanded.

"She went back to her apartment."

Alex was already out the door by the time everyone else had registered Kal's words.

"What happened?" J'onn asked.

Kal shook his head. "I don't know. I got to the Fortress and she was there. Talking to my father's hologram. She seemed...different. I don't know."

Eliza glanced at J'onn. She gave Kal's shoulder a squeeze, thanked him, then rushed out of the DEO.

Her daughter needed her. She could feel it.

* * *

Kara landed in her apartment and looked around.

Everything was the same...but it all looked different.

Homey and familiar yet strange and almost hostile.

With a heavy sigh, Kara changed into her human clothes at human speed. She knew Kal would have arrived at the DEO and Alex would come bursting in at any minute.

She looked around the apartment. There wasn't a huge abundance of pictures on the walls or on tables but in a few minutes, all of them were gone. In a few seconds the memories were stowed away in a box. A box Kara put on the top shelf of her closet and closed the door on.

But it didn't help in the way Kara had hoped it would.

Everything in reminded her of those she loved.

Every cup, plate, chair, coat hook, each tv remote, every single thing. They all had a memory attached to them.

In a few more seconds, the apartment was almost bare. And there were several boxes scattered about.

"Kara!" Alex nearly swung the door off its hinges.

"Alex-" Before the blonde could finish, Alex had thrown her arms around her, almost taking both of them down to the floor.

"Where were you?" Alex cried, finally pulling away.

"I went to the Fortress." Kara said calmly.

Alex frowned. "I know. Kal told us."

"I thought he would." Kara forced herself to seem nonchalant, neutral.

"What's the matter?" Alex caught Kara's arm.

"Nothing," Kara pulled out of Alex's grip a little roughly.

"Kara, I know when you're lying."

"I've got everything worked out." It wasn't exactly a lie. Just a partial one. She knew what she had to do. But it was different to say it than it was to actually follow through.

"What's going on? Did you learn something at the Fortress?"

"No," Kara cursed herself for answering so quickly. She sat down on the couch.

Alex joined her. "Something's bothering you. What is it?"

"It's nothing you need to worry about." Kara knew it would be useless to try and reason with her sister but she had to try.

"You're obviously hiding something," Alex pointed out. "Something that's bothering you. When something bothers you, it bothers me."

Kara turned and looked Alex squarely in the eye. "There's nothing you can do to change it, Alex."

The agent was taken aback. Kara's tone, look, posture, and cryptic answer were all worrying. Her tone was serious. Her look was calm. Her posture was rigid. Her answer was concerning. And her eyes were determined but sad.

There was a knock on the door.

Kara looked up. "Eliza."

Neither sister moved.

"Kara? Alex?" Eliza called. "Are you there?"

Kara stood up slowly. She walked to the door slowly. She opened the door slowly. She addressed Eliza slowly. "Hi, Eliza."

"Kara," Eliza engulfed her youngest in a hug. She hadn't missed Kara's look. And she'd mentally noted how long it had taken for Kara to answer the door. Her gut told her that something was really wrong.

Eliza pulled away and held Kara had arm's length. "Are you okay?" She knew her daughter wasn't okay but she needed time to observe.

Kara merely shrugged in response. "Do you want to come in?"

Eliza made more notes: Kara's lack of eye contact, her change of topic, her almost defeated look. A look that was defeat yet somehow determined and...maybe...guilty?

Eliza looked toward Alex. They made eye contact. The two hadn't always seen eye to eye. In fact, Kara was usually the one who brought them together.

But now the Kara they knew seemed to be disappearing.

They hadn't always gotten along but in that moment they made a vow. A pledge. A firm promise.

They would get their Kara back.


	3. Part Three

"Supergirl seems to be everywhere and yet nowhere these days," The news reported.

It was true.

Supergirl seemed to be everywhere all the time.

But yet, she was gone all the time too.

Unlike Supergirl however, Kara Danvers had nearly disappeared.

Lena and James were worried; their friend wasn't showing up for work, never answered calls, and only answered texts with short one to five word replies.

Eliza was worried; her daughter was not the same. Something was really wrong.

Winn was worried; Kara was around even less than she had been in the months after Mon-El's departure. It scared him.

J'onn was worried; Kara was like a daughter to him and she was avoiding everyone.

Kal was worried; his cousin, his only biological family, had changed. He knew he had something to do with whatever Kara had talked with Jor-El about. During his free time, Kal had being flying to the Fortress and interrogating his father's hologram in an attempt to figure out what had upset Kara. But as it turned out, Kara and Jor-El had talked about a lot of stuff. Like, a whole lot. Life on Krypton, powers, and Kryptonian culture and education.

Alex was worried. Scratch that, she was really, really, really worried. Never before had Kara been this despondent. Even after Mon-El left Kara hadn't been this distant. And that scared Alex more than ever. What had happened in the Fortress?

* * *

"Kara, we need to talk." Alex pulled her sister aside.

"Alex," Kara said evenly.

"Kara, please," Alex found herself nearly begging and she didn't care.

"Is something the matter, Alex?"

Alex sighed. "I just-"

"Yes?"

"Do you want to come over tonight? We haven't had a Sisters Night in a while."

For a split second Alex detected a change in Kara's eyes. A change that exposed her emotions. Guilt, fear, sorrow. But as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. Replaced by a neutral mask.

"I can't," Kara said. "But thanks, Alex." And with that, she was gone. Off patrolling. As usual.

Alex sighed. It was scaring her more than she'd like to admit. Kara hadn't even given an excuse. She hadn't seemed sorry.

But perhaps the scariest thing was the way Kara was succeeding in hiding her emotions so well. Kara had always worn her heart on her sleeve. After Mon-El's departure, she'd been despondent and you could tell.

Now, she was hiding it behind a face that said everything was just...there. Not a face that said she was okay and not a face that said she was struggling.

She was simply...there.

* * *

Kara closed her eyes. Felt the wind whip through her hair. Felt tears building up behind her eyes. Pushing them down.

Felt her heart breaking even more.

She couldn't believe she'd turned down Alex's invitation.

But it was only way.

She'd seen the hurt in Alex's eyes and that's why she had to leave. If she stayed longer, she would have broken right then and there.

Part of her wasn't sure if this was best way to deal with everything.

But she didn't know any other way.

* * *

"Supergirl," Lena stood up.

"Ms. Luther." Supergirl nodded curtly. "You needed to talk to me?"

"Yes," Lena led the hero through Catco to an empty office. Heads turned every which way to catch a glance of the hero.

The office was empty save for two chairs.

"Please have a seat," Lena invited.

"I'm fine standing, thank you." Kara said.

Lena turned to close the door, allowing herself a moment to compose herself. This was not the Supergirl she knew. "Very well." Lena moved toward the middle of the room, turned to face the blonde, and crossed her arms. "I'm not very good at this type of thing."

Kara frowned. "What kind of thing?"

"Pep talks."

"What?" Kara was taken aback. This was certainly not what she was expecting.

"Cat called me this morning and asked to, in her words, 'knock some sense into the dumb alien.'" Lena quoted. "She would have come herself but it seems she's found a wall she can't scale."

"Yet," Kara said automatically.

Lena felt her spirits raise a little at that. This was more like the Supergirl she knew. "Very true, Supergirl."

Kara fidgeted. "I appreciate the sentiment but I have a city to take care of."

Lena raised an eyebrow, her spirits sinking again. "And I have two companies to run. If I can take five minutes out of my day to talk to you now as I have in the past, than I believe you can spare some time as well."

Both women were a little shocked at what had just been said.

Obediently, Kara moved forward and sat down.

Lena copied the hero's actions. "Thank you."

Kara nodded wordlessly.

"You've been distant lately," Lena began. "We've all noticed. You are this city's hope. But lately you seem more like an angel in the shadows. After the Daxamite invasion you were everywhere but now you are also emotionless. You don't feel. You don't need superpowers to tell something is wrong. I don't know what it is but I am here for you and I will do whatever I can to help. Supergirl," The Luther leaned forward and took one of the blonde's hands in her own. "You've been this city's hope. You've been my hope. Let us, let me, be yours now."

Kara kept her head down and desperately willed her tears to dissipate. "Th-thank you, Ms. Luther. I'll let you know if you can help. If you'll excuse me."

Lena frowned as the superhero stood abruptly and super speeded out of the room. She sighed.

* * *

Kara sat in her sparse apartment, staring in the dark.

Lena's words had struck her hard.

But Kara refused to break.

She wouldn't.

She looked at the book in her hands. Tuck Everlasting.

She opened it and began to read.


	4. Part Four

"This is ridiculous!" Alex exploded. "It's been two weeks now. What's wrong with her?"

"I've combed through everything her and Jor-El talked about," Kal sighed. "I can't find anything."

Alex was itching to punch something or someone. Hard. Really, really hard.

It was possible that Kara was experiencing extreme homesickness but Alex's gut told her that wasn't it. It was something else.

Something very serious.

* * *

"Lena," Kara said approaching the CEO.

"Kara!" Lena turned. She smiled. "Thanks for coming."

Kara nodded reluctantly.

"Please, come this way," Lena led Kara through Cat's old office to the balcony.

Kara stepped out entirely, already experiencing a wave of emotions. She joined Lena at the railing.

"Do you need time?" Lena asked.

Kara opened her mouth. Then closed it.

"Because if this is about Mon-El, I understand and I am more than willing to give you some time."

Kara shook her head. "No, that's not it. It's...it's something else. I'm handling it though, it's fine."

Lena frowned. "Kara. Please. You were there when I needed it. I'm here for you. Are you sure there's not something I can do for you?"

Kara bit her lip. She had an idea. But it was impulsive. Crazy. Scary.

"Kara-?"

"I'm moving." The blonde blurted out.

Lena blinked. "What?"

"I'm moving." Kara repeated.

"Where to?" Lena was still trying to wrap her head around this new revelation.

Kara thought quickly. "I'm going back to Midvale. Next week."

"Next week?"

Kara nodded. Her mind was made up. "Yes. I'm almost packed."

"But-" Lena struggled. "Why?"

"Eliza's getting older. Alex has a lot going for her here and it'd be unfair to ask her to take care of Eliza. Besides, they haven't exactly been known to see eye to eye." Kara explained.

"Well, I-I'm glad you're…" Lena stopped.

"Is there anything else you need?" Kara asked after a moment's silence.

"No," Lena was still at a loss for words.

Kara nodded. "I'll be going then. I'll hand in my resignation tomorrow."

"What?"

"My resignation. I won't be working here once I move back to Midvale."

"Right." Lena watched the reporter disappear without even a backward glance.

Lena was shocked, to say the least. Guilt, sorrow, and betrayal were also on her list of emotions right now. Guilt because was this her fault? Was Kara leaving because she just couldn't keep going without Mon-El? Sorrow because Kara was her friend. Her first friend. Her only true friend. And betrayal; she'd bought Catco for Kara. They were best friends. How had Kara decided to move and not mention this to her?

Lena Luthor was at a loss.


	5. Part Five

"You're moving?!"

Kara looked up. Alex was storming toward her, J'onn hot on her heels.

"Yes." Was the ever calm response.

Alex was seething. "Lena told me you said you were going to live with Mom. I called her and she had no idea."

Kara sighed. "I just need time."

"By cutting yourself off from everything and everyone?" Alex retorted. "We all know how well that worked out last time."

"Alex," J'onn warned. He knew Alex was beyond upset and hurt and that right now she was not thinking logically or reasonably.

"Alex-" Kara began.

"Don't 'Alex' me, Kara Danvers. I've spent my whole life it feels like, watching out for you, worrying about you, and I'm not about to let that go to waste by letting you go gallivanting around to who knows where. I don't know what your problem is right now, there's probably a lot of things, but you're the strongest person I know and you're my sister and Danvers always see something through. I am not about to let you give up when there's so many people out there willing and ready to support you." Alex paused for breath, eyes flashing dangerously.

Kara was at a loss for words. "I-"

"Maybe," J'onn cut in. "We should all sleep on this and you can talk about this tomorrow." He was all for Kara getting back on track but his gut told him that right now Alex wasn't going to be the warmest person to deal with which Kara could probably sense. That being said, if Kara tried to have a heart to heart at this moment, Alex might say some things that, while being well meaning, might come off aggressive and explosive. Kara didn't need that now.

Of course, this was the Danvers sisters and they were special. But J'onn thought it best not to push anything farther than should be.

"Fine." Alex said.

"Kara?" J'onn asked.

Kara, still at a loss for words, nodded.

J'onn nodded then turned and went back to work.

He knew Kara would keep her word, even in this delicate situation. She might be ignoring people but she was still Kara deep down and he had a good feeling that she'd keep her word.

At least, he certainly hoped so.

* * *

"My apartment in 20."

Alex looked down at the text, sent exactly 19 minutes prior to now.

She stood outside her sister's apartment.

Hesitating.

She wanted to see Kara, hug her (wished she could hug her as much as Clark could), wanted to talk some sense into her. (And part of her wanted to punch Kara in the face but she had a pretty good feeling that would only result in her injury and have little effect on Kara. However...they were close, at least in the past, and maybe Alex getting injured would trigger something…)

Before she could think any more, the door opened.

Kara stood there.

She was wearing her casual, reporter clothes.

The two stood there awkwardly for a few minutes.

"Kara." Alex finally said.

"Hi, Alex," Kara greeted. She slowly stepped aside. "Come in."

Alex glanced around. The apartment looked bare and dim.

Wordlessly, they sat down across from each other at the counter.

"You know," Alex began after a long stretch of silence. "I'm always here for you."

Kara's face clouded over. "You can't be here for me all the time, like Supergirl can't be there for everyone all the time."

Alex took a breath, Kara's words like a swift punch in the gut. "Kara," She decided to try a different approach. "I love you. I want to help you, we all do."

"I...I know that." Kara said quietly.

Alex tentatively reached out and touched her sister's arm. "What happened in the Fortress? Did Jor-El say something out of line? Because if he did, I don't care if he's a hologram or not, he's going down."

Kara's lips twitched upward at the corners. Alex did a mini victory dance to herself. It was progress.

"He didn't say anything out of line."

"What did you talk about?"

"I asked him about life on Krypton," Kara explained. "I just wanted to hear it again." Alex waited for more information. "Then I asked him what they knew about what would happen to Kal and I when we reached earth."

"What did he say?" Alex prompted after a while.

"Just that Kal and I would have powers. Nothing new." Kara's answer was quick and definitely a lie.

But Alex stopped herself from pushing further. She could see Kara was on the edge of breaking down and this was progress so Alex really couldn't complain too much.

"You hungry?" Alex finally asked.

"There's ice cream in the freezer."

"Good. I'm starving."

Kara watched Alex rummage around in the freezer for the tubs of melty goodness.

She liked this.

Talking with Alex.

Why didn't she just tell her? Why didn't she mention what Jor-El had said?

She didn't know.

She just couldn't bring herself to do it.

* * *

Author's Note:

Thank you all so much for reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting. It means a lot to me; I never thought I'd get such a positive reaction from this story.

Have a great day! (Or night or whatever time it is when you read this...)


	6. Part Six

"Hello, Kal." Jor-El's hologram made a slight nod. "What can I do for you today?"

Kal looked to Alex, bundled in a thick coat.

"I wanted to ask you about what you knew about earth and how it would affect Kara and Kal when they arrived." Alex said.

Jor-El nodded. "We knew that due to the rays of earth's sun, they would gain powers."

Alex and Kal nodded, both entirely aware of that.

"We also knew that they would age at a slower rate than humans." Jor-El continued. "Due to their Kryptonian DNA mixing with the rays of earth's sun-"

"Wait," Alex took a half step forward. "What did you say?"

"Due to their Kryptonian DNA mixing with-"

"Before that," Alex cut in. "About aging."

"We knew they would age at a slower rate than humans." Jor-El clarified.

The gears in Alex's head were on overload at this new information. She glanced at Kal. He seemed to have come to the same conclusion as she had. Alex couldn't help but notice that Clark looked a little depressed himself now.

She couldn't blame him though.

Not in the least.

Who really could?

* * *

"I didn't want to be abandoned again."

Kara's words echoed in Alex's head the whole way back to National City.

Everything was falling into place.

And it made so much sense.

Why hadn't Kara told her before?

Alex was still trying to work that out.

"Did he tell you that before?" Alex asked. She'd pulled Clark into an empty training room after they returned to the DEO.

He shook his head. "No. I just asked him what they'd talked about and all he would say was life on Krypton and the powers gained from the yellow sun. I never thought to go into detail about the powers. I thought I knew them all."

"Don't blame yourself. We all would have done the same thing."

Clark nodded almost absentmindedly. He hadn't known either. Alex knew he'd need to come to terms with his longevity now as well.

"Are you going to tell Lois?" Alex asked gently.

Clark sighed. "I guess."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "You guess?"

Clark rubbed his neck nervously. "I guess I get what Kara's going through. Probably not exactly but very similarly." He sighed, letting his hand fall back to his side. "I want Lois to know but I don't want her to worry about me. And...and part of me feels like maybe it'd be easier to just fade into the background. That way I won't make strong connections that would break later. I don't want to outlive everyone I love and care about. They're my life, the reason I'm out there every day saving people." He shook his head. "This...it's another thing that makes me different. And it's a different I don't like."

* * *

"Kara?" Alex knocked again at her sister's apartment. "I'm coming in."

It was empty.

No one was there.

Alex could feel panic rising in her chest. Had Kara just up and left? Was she injured somewhere? Was she-

"Alex."

Kara stood near the window, clad in her suit. She smelled of smoke. She sounded surprised.

"Kara," Alex breathed a sigh of relief.

"Do you need something?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to talk. I brought food." Alex held up four bags of Chinese take-out.

Kara's face lit up. Not as bright as usual but still. "Great. I'm starving."

Alex unpacked the food while Kara used her super speed to shower and change.

"You still smell like smoke," Alex complained as Kara joined her on the couch.

"I don't care, nothing is keeping me away from this," The blonde happily picked up a container of pot stickers and a pair of chopsticks.

Alex rolled her eyes.

She was glad Kara seemed to be more of herself. But there was still a layer of doubt and fear around her little sister.

"So," Alex said as they finished up. "Clark and I went to the Fortress today."

Kara looked up. "What?"

"We went to the Fortress," Alex repeated. "We asked Clark's dad some questions."

Kara shifted. "I see."

"I'll always be with you," Alex whispered, leaning close. "I may not be here physically but I'll be in your heart."

Kara nodded, tears threatening to fall. "I know that."

"Kara, we love you. National City loves you. I know right now this is scary. It scares me too," Alex admitted. "But we can get through this."

"Alex-"

"We will," Alex said firmly, sitting back in order to look Kara in the eyes. "We always have and we always will. Together."

* * *

Author's Note:

Two chapters at one time, how lucky.

Yeah, I just felt like it so here we are.

Just a head's up, the next one will be the last one. Thanks for taking this journey with me!


	7. Part Seven

Four months. It'd been four months since Kara found out. Three and a half months since Clark found out.

It was rough.

Really rough.

Some days were better than others.

But Clark had Lois and Kara had Alex.

And they both had a boatload of friends.

Things were improving the best they could.

But the knowledge still hung over them like a threatening rain cloud.

Kara still wasn't herself. And Alex knew, deep down inside, that she never would. She'd never be exactly the same.

But Kara was still Kara and she was still positive, or on bad days at least put up a great effort before allowing herself to breakdown for a few hours.

But not just the two Kryptonians were trying to work through it.

Everyone else was too.

Lois found herself crying in the supermarket of all places one day because it hit her that Clark would probably live to see their children and grandchildren, possibly even great grandchildren grow up while she...well, wouldn't. And as much as she loved Clark and knew how much he would love their children (if and when that happened), it wouldn't be the same for either of them.

James was numb for a long time. Honestly, he was still trying to wrap his head around it. Part of him was glad that they'd be alive to help more people but he also knew how much this was killing his friends. And knowing that, killed him.

Winn was...well, he didn't really know. All he knew was that Kara and Clark were going to outlive him and probably everyone else he knew and even though that seemed totally cool, it also seemed so unfair and even curse-like. "You help save people's lives and you lost your home planet and are way different that everyone else? Great! Let's make you live longer than everyone else too because that's what you want!"

Alex struggled. She could see how much this weighed on Kara. And that meant it weighed on her too. And she worried. Worried what would happen when she...well...when she wasn't there. Kara would be lost. Would she do something drastic? Would she become a hermit? Alex hated not knowing.

* * *

Kara was coming to terms with everything.

She was coping.

Most days.

She couldn't always say it was getting better.

But she had a support team.

She knew that before. Had known it for just about ever.

She knew all her friends would do just about anything for her, just like she would for them.

She knew she and Kal weren't the only ones struggling. They all were now.

And it made her feel a little guilty.

But it also made her feel stronger. Because she knew that despite whatever the universe decided to chuck at them, they could take it.

Sure, it might take some time, but they had this. Together they always had it.

She wasn't alone. Kal wasn't alone. No one was.

But everyone has to be reminded at times.

* * *

Author's Note:

And that's it!

I'm sorry if the ending it's to your liking but I didn't really know a better way to finish it. I mean, it's not exactly a "happily ever after" type situation, you know?

(Also, to be entirely honest, I haven't put like a whole boatload of thought into this story, so that's probably why, if you don't like the ending that much - or at all - it is how it is. Being in college is busy. But I found time for this. Or made time. Which is just another way to say, "I totally did this when I was supposed to be doing homework." Wow, I feel like Kara now, you know, rambling.)

Anyway, thank you again for all the support and going on this adventure with me. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.


End file.
